President Yoon Suk-yeol Arrested…A First in Constitutional History

The Prosecution Office for High-ranking Officials (POHO) arrested President Yoon Suk-yeol on the 15th on charges including being the leader of a rebellion. This comes 43 days after he declared martial law on December 3rd and 32 days after the impeachment motion passed in the National Assembly. This is the first time in constitutional history that a sitting president has been arrested by an investigative agency.

The POHO executed the arrest warrant for President Yoon at 10:33 AM at his residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and transferred him to the Gwacheon Government Complex. The vehicle carrying President Yoon arrived at the complex at around 10:53 AM. The POHO, having prepared a questionnaire of over 200 pages, is expected to immediately begin questioning the suspect.

President Yoon has been identified as the chief responsible for declaring unconstitutional and illegal martial law and instigating a rebellion aimed at disrupting the national constitution. He is accused of conspiring with former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun (indicted and detained) to block the resolution to lift martial law by deploying armed martial law troops to blockade the National Assembly. He also faces charges of attempting to arrest over 10 key political figures and Central Election Commission staff and detain them in the Capital Defense Command bunker.

President Yoon ignored the POHO's summons to appear for questioning as a suspect on three occasions last month, on the 18th, 25th, and 29th. Consequently, the POHO requested an arrest warrant for President Yoon on the 30th of last month, and Judge Lee Soon-hyung of the Seoul Western District Court, who is in charge of warrants, issued an arrest warrant with a validity of one week, citing the charge of being the leader of a rebellion as the main charge.

On the 3rd of this month, the POHO attempted to execute the arrest warrant at President Yoon's residence with a force of about 150, including police personnel, but failed due to being outnumbered by about 200 members of the Presidential Security Service. After reissuing the arrest warrant, they executed it three hours after entering the residence with about 1,000 police officers. The POHO plans to request a detention warrant after questioning President Yoon.

As he was being transferred to the POHO, President Yoon released a pre-recorded video message through the presidential office. In the video, President Yoon stated, "The law of this country has completely collapsed," and expressed his refusal to acknowledge the POHO's execution of the warrant and investigation, but agreed to appear at the POHO to prevent physical clashes between state institutions.

President Yoon said, "I decided to appear at the POHO, even though it is an illegal investigation, to prevent an unfortunate bloodshed after seeing them invade the security zone using firefighting equipment," adding, "As the president who must uphold the constitution and legal system of the Republic of Korea, responding to such illegal and invalid procedures is not an acknowledgment but merely a desire to prevent unfortunate bloodshed."

President Yoon further stated, "Seeing a warrant issued by an institution without investigative authority and a court without warrant review authority issuing arrest and search warrants, and seeing investigative agencies issuing false official documents to deceive the public and coercively proceeding with procedures based on invalid warrants, I cannot help but be appalled," adding, "Even if I suffer such disadvantages, I hope our citizens will never experience such a criminal case in the future."

There was also a remark intended to rally his supporters. President Yoon expressed his gratitude, saying, "I am truly grateful for the support and encouragement you have given me," and added, "Especially seeing our young people re-recognize the importance of liberal democracy and show passion for it, I believe that although the law has collapsed and we are in a pitch-dark era, the future of this country is hopeful."

The People Power Party threatened to hold the POHO politically and legally accountable. Chief Spokesperson Shin Dong-wook stated in a commentary, "The people will hold the POHO, which has become a subcontractor of the Democratic Party, strictly accountable," adding, "The public, as well as a significant number of legal professionals, have fundamental doubts about whether any of the POHO's actions have been lawful."

Chief Spokesperson Shin further stated, "Despite the POHO not having investigative authority for rebellion charges, they applied for a warrant to the Seoul Western District Court instead of the Seoul Central District Court, which has jurisdiction over the case, using expedient means, and the warrant judge issued a 'customized search warrant' that is close to creating law by excluding specific legal provisions," adding, "Despite the second arrest warrant not including Articles 110 and 111 of the Criminal Procedure Act, the POHO's forced execution is a clear violation of the Military Facilities Protection Act and other laws."

The Democratic Party of Korea welcomed the move. Floor Leader Park Chan-dae stated at a general meeting of lawmakers, "Although it is very late, it is fortunate to confirm that public power and justice are alive in the Republic of Korea," adding, "Yoon Suk-yeol, as the president who should uphold the constitution and laws, not only declared martial law in violation of the constitution and laws but also obstructed the enforcement of public power by force, making the Republic of Korea a lawless land as a major criminal."

Floor Leader Park continued, "He repeatedly ignored the investigative agency's summons requests, and even obstructed and refused the execution of the arrest warrant issued by the court. The POHO must thoroughly investigate Yoon Suk-yeol and uncover the full extent of the rebellion, and hold Yoon Suk-yeol accountable. That is the way to fully restore constitutional order and achieve national normalization," adding, "It is common sense, fairness, and the rule of law that if a crime is committed, it should be investigated and punished."

Hong Min-seong/Yoo Chae-young Hankyung.com reporters